Causes And Risk Factors Of Paroxysmal Supraventricular Tachycardia

Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome

Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome is a major risk factor for paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia. In this condition, the heart has abnormal electrical pathways that lead to abnormal heart rhythms, or arrhythmias. The pathways let electrical currents bypass the AV node, which allows the currents to move too quickly to the ventricles. In this condition, the heart may also have an electrical pathway that bounces signals from the ventricles to the atria. Symptoms include the usual tachycardia, palpitations, dizziness, and faintness associated with other arrhythmias.

Individuals with Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome are sometimes born with extra electrical wiring in their heart or are born with a heart that is abnormal in other ways. The disorder is also a complication of other diseases such as Pompe disease, hypokalemic periodic paralysis, and tuberous sclerosis complex. Some individuals with the disorder are asymptomatic, but in rare cases, the syndrome can lead to heart attack and sudden death.

Atrial Tachycardia

Atrial tachycardia happens when an electrical signal switches on from an abnormal place in the atria and fires quickly and repeatedly. This, in turn, causes the atria to contract faster than it normally would and be out of sync with the lower chambers. It is literally a type of short circuit in the heart. This keeps the atria from filling up with blood between beats and can lead to the usual symptoms of arrhythmia though some individuals do not experience symptoms. It happens most often in the elderly and patients with heart disease.

The risk factors are cardiomyopathy or an atrium that’s stretched because of high blood pressure. Individuals who have had heart attacks are also at risk. It can lead to a weakened heart muscle followed by heart failure and atrial fibrillation. Sometimes, doctors do not know what causes atrial tachycardia.